Assistant Director - Program Management II - Gilliam Youth Service Center
Assistant Director - Program Management II - Gilliam Youth Service Center
Salary: $95,892.00 - $153,432.00 Annually
Location: Denver, CO
Job Type: Full Time
Job Number: IKA 01004
Opening Date: 11/10/2025
Department: Colorado Department of Human Services
Division: OCYF - Gilliam Youth Services Center
FLSA Status: Exempt; position is not eligible for overtime compensation.
Primary Physical Work Address: 2844 North Downing St., Denver, CO 80205
Department Contact Information: brennon.watts@state.co.us
How to apply: Please submit an online application for this position at https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/colorado. Reach out to the Department Contact to apply using a paper application, including any supplemental questions. Failure to submit a complete and timely application may result in the rejection of your application. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that application materials are received by the appropriate Human Resources office before the closing date and time listed.
About the Division of Youth Services: The mission of the Division of Youth Services (DYS) is to protect, restore and improve public safety utilizing a continuum of care that provides effective supervision, promotes accountability to victims and communities, and helps youth lead constructive lives through positive youth development. The strategic goal of DYS is to operate healthy trauma-responsive organizational environments as demonstrated through prosocial, safe, and non-violent interactions. DYS provides a continuum of services that encompass juvenile detention, assessment, commitment and parole. DYS is the agency statutorily mandated to provide for the care and supervision of youth committed by the District Court to the custody of the Colorado Department of Human Services. The Division operates 15 secure facilities that serve youth between the ages of 10 and 21, who are pre-adjudicated, sentenced, or committed. For pre-adjudicated youth, the Division is also responsible for the management and oversight of the Colorado Youth Detention Continuum; a State-funded, locally administered program that provides services to youth at risk of further progressing into the juvenile justice system. In addition to residential programming, the Division administers juvenile parole services throughout the State.
Description of Job
Purpose of Position
This position is an Appointing Authority as delegated by the Youth Center Director. Reports to the Division as necessary or required, regarding the status or progress of the agency. The position implements DYS initiatives to include a trauma responsive environment, behavior management and/or treatment models. The position provides direct supervision of other supervisory and management positions to include Youth Service Specialist IIIs (YSSIII), Youth Service Counselor III (YSCIII), medical and food services managers as assigned by the Youth Center Director. Responsible for identifying, managing, and/or participating directly in leadership and management efforts aimed at improving youth center operations including implementation of the DYS strategic plan. This position participates in the Youth Center Assistant Directors Group (ADG); provides indirect supervision to all remaining employees; has on-call responsibilities; and, may serve as the liaison to the Facilities Management Division.
Job Duties
Supervision: Supervision of direct care supervisory staff and assigned program area managers as well as indirect supervision of all other agency staff. Serves as the Appointing Authority for assigned areas; sets performance standards; conducts performance planning and appraisal of staff; and, ensures subordinate staff development needs are met. Initiates and concludes necessary corrective or disciplinary actions. Ensures direct and indirect supervisory employees are performing supervision functions with their direct reports consistent with State, Department, Division, and Youth Center expectations. Specifically ensures that the Reflective Supervision Model is implemented as designed and trained to aid in mentoring and coaching of all DYS staff within the youth center. Monitors and approves formal leaves of absence for staff and provides formal and regular interval performance evaluations of direct report staff ensuring all other staff are subject to the same procedures. Makes recommendations for promotions, applies criteria to approve, evaluate, and determine appropriate use of personnel resources pursuant to the Colorado Code of Regulations, Department, and Division policy. Responsible for ensuring all statutes and policy related to the use of seclusion and physical response are followed. Ensure quality program services and gender specific treatment in alignment with DYS Treatment Model in a trauma informed environment.
Program Implementation: Provides programmatic planning, coordinating, monitoring, evaluation, and oversight to assigned youth center functions. Responsible for quality control and continuous quality improvement for assigned youth center areas with the goal of operating a healthy trauma-responsive organizational environment as demonstrated through prosocial, safe, and non-violent interactions. The quality assurance and improvement process is aligned to DYS Policy, Compliance Review Standards, Statutes and approved practices. Implements the DYS Strategic Plan to include, but not limited to, understanding the impact of trauma, skills development, small teams, safety and self care plans, calming spaces, group processes, DYS Behavior Expectations, Incident Debriefings, use of positive reinforcement, psychoeducation and/or treatment groups. Partners with behavioral health, direct care, and other administrative supervisory staff to ensure quality programming. Maintains effective working relationships and communication with School District Officials, Contract Providers, Detention Screening Agencies, Law Enforcement, DYS Client Managers, Regional Program Managers, Central Office Managers/staff, and DYS Leadership Team to facilitate effective bed management in the youth center and youth transition from the center. Maintains required staffing levels according to prevailing standards and ratios through recruitment, selection, training, scheduling and retention of employees.
Finance: Works with Youth Center Director to develop an annual budget based upon assessment of needs consistent with State, Department, and Division guidelines. Approves and monitors expenditures to assure spending is consistent with budget. Assures the appropriate use of resources to best address multiple needs of the youth center. Creates partnerships as needed to forward agency interests (e.g. DFM). Tracks and administers any recognition or reward monies permissible from personnel funds. Acts as a signing authority for the agency for P card and checkbooks as necessary or required. Approves or plans for movement of allocation among specific job codes without jeopardizing or violating any encumbered or contractual agreement with the Youth Center Director. Stays within the allocation in personnel funds monitoring vacancy savings, overtime usage and holiday accruals. Plans of any PREA fund allocation to prevent sexual harassment, abuse or misconduct.
Safe Environments: Ensures the youth center and personnel are providing safe and secure care for all youth. Inspects and modifies or improves architecture or processes to ensure safety and security. Improves youth center operations by planning for additional or new/improved equipment or processes to assist with safe and secure custody. Provides staff with functioning equipment such as radios/microphones, restraint equipment, convex mirroring or video recording, to improve safety and security. Provides for oversight and quality control of processes such as youth movement or staffing schedules and distributions in the shift. Oversees unit and room assignments or group composition to assist with safe and secure operation. Oversees and monitor compliance of the Federally Mandated Prison Rape Elimination Act. Oversees and monitors new staff training to ensure attainment of Safe Practices. Oversees, with Youth Center Director, structured, engaging and trauma responsive programming. Provides for and oversees regulated movement and staff spatial positioning. Provides staff continual training to develop and practice both verbal de-escalation and physical response skills. Ensures verbal de-escalation practices are consistently applied. Provides staff training to increase their understanding of youth responses or developmental concerns so that their work to intervene may be made more effective and therefore, safer. Assists Youth Center Director in the implementation of Division initiatives to include creating a trauma responsive environment and providing staff the training, coaching and mentoring ensuring safety in the youth center. Ensures training of staff occurs per DYS Policy 4.1 at a minimum with specific agency training as indicated.
Personnel: Responsible for comprehensive understanding and application of state personnel board rules. Required to assist in recruiting efforts including testing and evaluating potential candidates, screening, interviewing, and selecting appropriate staff to advance the interests of the agency; training to specifications of agency; monitoring progress; correcting performance; and, applying appropriate State Personnel Board Board Rule for employees. Required to work closely with other employee supportive structures and processes to include Family Medical Leave (FML), Short-Term Disability (STD), and Long-Term Disability (LTD). Advises employees regarding the employee assistance program (C-SEAP) as needed. Position correctly applies resources to staff injured on the job, works collegially with HR, Timekeeping, Benefits, and the Attorney General's Office. Position recognizes, consults with and correctly employs all elements found in the Code of Colorado Regulations or prevailing Personnel Rules. Position works to ensure that staff are evaluated according to prevailing instruments and standards. Position ensures compliance with DYS Policies. Position models, coaches, trains, teaches, mentors, and guides staff directly and ensures the same happens for indirect reports with the intent of advancing agency interests and assisting with personal job performance improvement. Addresses the training needs of staff to deal with the serious mental health needs of detained and/or committed youth. Position ensures a work environment that supports a trauma responsive environment for staff.
Representation: Position may serve